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journal: toy
Unfolding Origami
Origami: it’s not just the Japanese art of paper-folding anymore! I’ll admit, when I first saw the teasers for Origami--or Ultra-Mobile Personal Computers (UMPC for short) as it is officially (and blandly!) called now--I was actually kind of excited to see what it would turn out to be. Even when I saw the leaked promo video, I was somewhat intrigued. Granted I would never own one, but I thought there was some value in the little thing. The question is, where? Who will find Origami appealing? Which markets does Origami fit into?
Students
Students like myself carry around enough crap in our bags: books, papers, lunch, you name it. The last thing I want as a student--a commuting one at that--is additional bulk in my backpack. While I won’t be surrendering my iBook anytime soon (because it’s still fairly small), I can see where other students would prefer an Origami-like device over a bulkier laptop, provided they own a primary computer already. The price may be a little too high though, considering most students only have the money for one computer.
Sales
I work at my school’s computer store. During the back-to-school rush, orders tended to be large and Point-of-Sale terminals were constantly in use.
Medicine
A small handheld device such as Origami would work well in hospitals, for example, for putting up patient’s charts.
There are of course others, but these are a few I could see as possible markets. Basically, the point I’m getting at is that Origami will not be as useless as some people have said. By the same token, it will not be something earth-shattering as some have said it is. It will not replace your laptop; Laptops are far more versatile and for more usable. It will not kill off PDAs--smart phones already have that covered, thank you very much. Besides, as others have said a million times now, you can’t fit Origami into your pocket. OK, I imagine you could if you tried hard enough and had really big pockets, but to call that uncomfortable would be like calling the sky blue, the Pope Catholic, and Mr. Pibb and Red Vines ”crazy delicious.”
I also don’t see UMPCs making a dent in laptop sales. Laptops are typically more powerful and versatile than UMPCs, although I would expect a slight impact on the sub-portable notebooks, which are often only slightly larger than a UMPC to begin with. I also don’t see the UMPC as being a hot seller, at least not for a while. The UMPC has the same problem that the Newton had: it’s too big to fit in a pocket but is not as full-featured as a standard laptop.
Also, I don’t really see the practicality of a tablet-like device. Tablets are cool and they’re fun, but a lot of that is novelty factor, in my experience with using a tablet, I find them to be rather tedious to use, mainly because Windows XP Tablet Edition is still very much a mouse-based operating system. Design the UI around a pen-based input system and maybe it’ll work out. But who knows? Maybe when I get a chance to actually use a UMPC, I’ll feel differently.
UPDATE: Cleaned up some useless repetition.
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| Nick | comments | views |
thinkback
I’m sure that if the tablet and origami were both Apple endorsed products, then you wouldn’t be saying all that.
The tablet/origami are both products designed to make people think differently.
Can we live with a computer without a keyboard?
Is touch screen the next buzz for operating a computer?
What else can we do with a screen? Does it need to sit up, be support or held by hand?
Touch screen devices have been around for a while now, PDAs, Tablet, NAVs etc. Now PMPs are being operated by touch screen interaction and are also running on Linux.
It would be interesting to see what Origami can really do, as MS do produce some reliably good products.
It would be interesting to see what Origami can really do, as MS do produce some reliably good products.
They do? I must have missed that memo. 
But chiding aside, I image if the Origami was deployed in doctors’ offices as Nick suggested, it could make good use of Sogni’s old project, LoStar. I’ll put up a link if I can.
| Mar. 21, 2006 | |
| Arden | 10:03 pm |
What most people are forgetting is that this runs a full version of XP, so anything you can do on a normal PC, you can do on a UMPC (within reason).
For some reason, I see this doing well. 
| Mar. 22, 2006 | |
| Liam | 9:44 am |
I’m sure that if the tablet and origami were both Apple endorsed products, then you wouldn’t be saying all that.
I never said the Origami devices are bad, I just don’t know whether it’ll catch on as a mass-consumer product, no matter who makes it. Maybe it will catch on, maybe it won’t. I do think that such devices have value though. The reason I would likely never own one is because I already own a laptop, I prefer a larger screen (at least 12”, which is why you’ll never see me with an ultraportable with a 10” screen), and as I said before, I do not think a mouse-driven UI (like Windows XP or OS X) works as well for Pen-based devices.
And let’s not bring Apple into this. No need to turn everything into Mac vs. PC or Apple vs. whoever; there are plenty discussions like that on this site already.
| Nick | Mar. 22, 2006 | |
| 10:49 pm |
I think the biggest place this will catch on will be the business world. If it has a base-station which offeres full keyboard, mouse, and monitor, then a business prefession would probably find it easier to use than a laptop when on the go. The big thing here is to get EV-DO support, allowing it to be a sort of internet anywhere device with a big enough screen.
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| Mar. 23, 2006 | |
| Liam | 1:45 am |
What most people are forgetting is that this runs a full version of XP
Selective memory?
How does this differ from the Windows CE products? I’m really ignorant when it comes to these portable devices because I don’t have any use for them at all, but I see how they are great for many people.
If Microsoft hopes to compete with the Sony PSP, I think they’ll fail miserably. But again, I don’t know much about it—but doesn’t Sony own a big chunk of the movie studio business and don’t they put those movies out for the PSP? And the video game side of the PSP isn’t something I see Microsoft competing with.
And haven’t there been all kinds of really small Windows XP laptops already? Sony makes them, don’t they?
There are already specialized tablet devices for doctors, appraisers, carpet installers, etc.
informer, are you saying that Nick has never ever criticized any Apple products? Is that your accusation? Why do you have to get personal in your posts?
| Mar. 23, 2006 | ||
| 2:10 pm |
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/20 06-03-09-origami_x.htm?csp=34
Technology reviewer Chris Pirillo, of Lockergnome.com, who has tested the device, predicts the most sophisticated technophiles will be disappointed.
“They’re going after the consumer crowd,” says Pirillo.
Pirillo and other analysts are puzzled by Microsoft’s timing; the company is preparing to roll out Windows Vista, a major overhaul of Windows XP, late this year.
“There’s no way you can cram enough hardware into a $500 price point and make it run well for Windows XP, let alone Vista,” says Pirillo.
But Windows is scalable!!!!! 
| Mar. 23, 2006 | ||
| 2:14 pm |
1.
I don’t think the Origami thing will catch on. MAybe if it’s part of Microsoft’s portable gaming strategy… like a PSP mixed with a PDA but toher than that I don’t see it being very popular.